VICTORY IS TAYLOR MADE FOR ENGLAND
Lionesses book a place in last 16
Acity rebuilt in reinforced concrete after the Second World War always seemed an appropriate place to deliver defensive might, and it took a monumental effort from England to batter down the wall and guarantee their progress to the World cup’s knockout stage.
For the second time in this tournament, it was not a convincing performance but the win will more than do after more than an hour of Argentine resistance. A 60-yard move of pinpoint accuracy was the decisive one. it was finished off by forward Jodie taylor but delivered by the left foot of Beth Mead, who provided more evidence that she could be a defining player if England venture deep into this tournament.
A draw against Japan in Nice on Wednesday would deliver them the far easier road to a Lyons semifinal, with one of the group stage’s third-round sides, possibly New Zealand, in the round of 16 and conceivably Norway or Australia after that. it all looks manageable if Phil Neville’s players can begin to find a rhythm.
the Argentinia defender Adriana Sachs had hinted that there was needle where this particular old foe are concerned, but England had not expected quite such a level of physicality. it was bordering on assault at times in the first half.
Lucy Bronze, put into the air by Miriam Mayorga as they went for one challenge and shoved towards the touchline by Aldana cometti in the only offence which earned a yellow card, bore the most obvious blows. But there was a kind of malice, too. Ruth Bravo placed studs into Jill Scott’s boots as they waited to compete for a clearance.
England were thrown out of their rhythm, struggling to get into the final third and unable to find any kind of accuracy from crosses.
Fran Kirby, the player they most look to for delivery in the tight pockets of space, operated deep in central midfield. Neville exhorts his players to be brave and break the tactical lines with forward passes but despite England’s first-half domination — 152 passes to the South Americans’ 27 — they went square too often.
the game-plan seemed to have identified the Argentinian right as the flank to exploit, though this rendered Nikita Parris, the player most likely to deliver the unexpected component, a marginal presence in that first period.
the lock seemed to have been picked three minutes before the half-hour, when the first half’s outstanding move brought a penalty.
Steph Houghton was the protagonist, with a 30-yard pass on the diagonal, deftly controlled and navigated by Mead into the path of the Alex Greenwood, who was felled by Bravo in the area.
the referee made Parris’s wait to take the penalty an interminable one, as she fussed over encroachments into the area. But the Liverpudlian’s kick was marginally too close to goalkeeper Vanina correa, who leapt to her left to repel it.
the goalkeeper was mobbed by her team-mates and repeated the heroics when Mead was sent through on goal after Kirby intercepted a poor defensive clearance and shipped the ball into her path. the Arsenal forward’s shot, five minutes before the break, was not clinical enough and correa was able to stab out a left foot to block.
For the second game here, England lacked a creative fulcrum with Scott, winning the midfield battles one minute and advancing to join the attack the next, the most effective presence.
Neville’s half-time work seemed to have involved exhortations to get Parris into the match and Kirby into the pockets. Parris did find more possession after the interval as England renewed their efforts to break things down, striking a ball through a forest of players after Kirby, suddenly in the thick of it, laid a ball into her path. correa, unsighted, saved again.
the understanding between Kirby and taylor, whose start instead of Ellen White was one of four changes Neville made, was not always there. When Kirby skipped past three Argentinians to deliver into danger, taylor had drifted away to the No 10’s obvious frustration. the forward had also drifted offside when Parris crossed for her. But the